4

The Nihongo Way 4

< Todays dialogue >
You (U) are visiting a Japanese friend (J) at her home around 3 oclock in the afternoon. J offers U
something Japanese to eat.

J:

J:

Tabemasen ka?
U:

Omanj? Amai desu ka?

U:

Nan desu ka?

J:

Ee, amai desu yo. Dzo.

J:

Omanj desu.

Arigat gozaimasu. Itadakimasu.

J:

D desu ka?
U:

Totemo oishii desu.

J:

S desu ka. Yokatta desu.

Todays focus is on the core of this language, which is the answer to the question, what constitutes a
valid Japanese sentence in its shortest form? In English, a valid sentence requires a subject and a verb
as its minimum requirements. You might think this a universal rule for all languages; Japanese, however,
has no such rule.

DIALOGUE OVERVIEW
Here is an English translation of the dialogue.
J: Would you like to have some? [lit. Wont you eat?]
U: What is it?
J: Its omanju.
U: Omanju? Is it sweet?
J: Yes, it is. Please (go ahead).
U: Thank you very much. [lit. It is rare.] Ill have some. [lit. I humbly accept.]
J: How do you like it? [lit. How is it?]
U: It tastes very good. [lit. It is very tasty.]
J: Is that so. Im glad you liked it. [lit. It was good.]
Similarly to English custom, the Japanese have a traditional afternoon tea time called oyatsu. Tea
with okashi (cake) or similar snacks are offered for oyatsu. As it is traditionally served around 3 oclock
(san-ji) some call it osanji also.

VOCABULARY FOCUS
Verbs
The verbs that appear in the dialogue are tabemasu and itadakimasu.
tabemasu: eat
itadakimasu: (humbly) accept

Adjectives
The adjectives that appear in the dialog are amai, oishii and yoi.
amai: is sweet (in taste)
oishii: is delicious, tasty
yoi: is good [In the dialog, the perfective form, yokatta (was good), is used.]

Nouns
omanju: Japanese cake with sweet bean jam inside
s: so, the way you say/do
Nouns (interrogative)
nan: what [abbreviation of nani]
d: how, what way

GRAMMAR FOCUS
1. Three types of sentence
The dialog contains three types of Japanese sentence: (i) Verb sentence, (ii) Adjective sentence, and
(iii) Noun sentence. Keep in mind the three word classes and distinguish them whenever you learn a
new word. Each word class has distinctive behavioral patterns. Importantly, these patterns are highly
consistent in Japanese.
In future Lessons, Ill show how each type behaves. The beauty is that once you identify the word
class, you can then control your language in its use.
2. No subject
Look again at the English equivalents to the dialogue. Every sentence has a subject and a verb
because these are the English languages minimum requirements for forming a sentence. In contrast, a
Japanese verb is not just a word itself: it also constitutes a perfectly valid sentence on its own. Not only
does using a verb by itself not violate Japanese grammatical rules, such use is not sloppy or choppy in
style. Adding in words to mark what English might call the subject only happens when the situation calls
for such clarification.
This rule also holds true for Japanese adjectives and nouns, in principle. Regarding the word desu,
you could think of it as functioning like the English is, but as we'll see later, desu and is are very
different from each other. Just keep in mind that in Japanese there is no mentioning of the subject as
such unless necessary.

English and other European languages have developed pronouns, such as I, you, she, and they, to
form sentences; these are used even when it is obvious who the subject is. In Japanese, because there is
no idea of subject like in European languages, this is not done. Japanese does not have personal
pronouns as found in English and many other languages.
3. A negative question is an invitation.
The negative form of tabemasu (eat) is tabemasen (do not eat). To make a question, add the question
sentence-particle ka, i.e., tabemasen ka? (do not eat?). Because the situation is obvious, this translates
to Wont you eat? As this English translation suggests, it works as an invitation. In fact, negative
questions are a typical invitation form in Japanese.

OTHER EXAMPLES
- Nomimasen ka?

Would you like to drink?

- Ikimasen ka?

Would you like to go?

A negative question is typically used when the speaker expects a positive response. Think of a
question like Arent you going? for instance. This psychology works in Japanese, too, and therefore
extends the meaning so as to create an invitation. (When inviting, the inviter is surely expecting a positive
answer; otherwise, s/he would not invite, to start with.)

CULTURE FOCUS
When I say there is no subject in Japanese, people tend to think this is why Japanese is ambiguous.
I dont think so. Even if you use he in an English sentence, who he is could still be ambiguous: For
instance saying, He is waiting when two men are standing by, provides a subject but no indication of
who is referred to.
All languages are ambiguous in nature; each language has ways to clarify ambiguities as needed.